JMA, founded in 1986, has interests in hospitality, leisure, residential developments, retail, office and industrial/telecom projects.

JMA’s portfolio includes some of the premier venues in the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe regions, including Alpine Meadows and Homewood Mountain Ski Resort.

It also oversees Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco and the Waterbar and EPIC Roasthouse restaurants on San Francisco’s Embarcadero waterfront.

Todd Chapman, president and CEO of JMA, said early Friday evening that he could not comment on any Sacramento-area transactions that were not finalized.

However, sources familiar with the deal confirmed that JMA was the prospective buyer. Financial terms of the pending purchase are as yet unknown.

The city of Sacramento has long hoped to see a buyer for the plaza, which has substantial vacant space and was hit hard by the recession. City officials have said they hope a new owner will spruce up the shopping complex and create a public draw to the downtown core.

While commercial real estate circles buzzed with anticipation of a plaza buyer for much of the day on Friday, confirmation was hard to come by.

Westfield Group declined to comment. Executives in the area’s commercial real estate industry declined to speak on the record.

However, one real estate official, who insisted on remaining anonymous, offered this: “All I can tell you is that the Westfield deal is done. It’s a good-news story, and Sacramento will love it when they’re ready to make the announcement.”

Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said he had not heard that JMA was the potential buyer, and stressed that it would be “way premature” to say the center is sold, since such deals can fall apart.

The fate of the nearly 1 million-square-foot Downtown Plaza has bounced around the rumor mill for months.

Last spring, Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group, owner of Starwood Hotels Resorts, was at the top of the prospective plaza buyer list, including in a Wall Street Journal story of a possible multimillion-dollar transaction involving 16 other properties.

In another development at the Downtown Plaza, lenders have foreclosed on the building housing Macy’s men’s and furniture store at 600 K St., though the store remains open and will continue to operate as usual for now, according to people working in the store.

Macy’s, which declined to comment, leases the three-story building. It is separate from a nearby Macy’s store that specializes in women’s merchandise.

As for the Macy’s men’s/furniture store, local real estate sources said the landlord owed more than $5 million and an auction seeking approximately that amount did not draw any takers. Public records show the property was owned by an entity known as Foster Associates.

The primary lender was identified as U.S. Bank, which likewise declined comment on Friday.

The first two floors at 600 K St. are used for Macy’s retail sales; the third floor is used as a storage area.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/28/4668436/jma-ventures-said-to-be-buyer.html

Articles all over the web report that real estate professionals are gearing up, potential buyers are trying to buy now before the IPO and sellers are trying to determine their best course of strategy.  From the local Mercury News :

Realtors say the buzz around Facebook is already sparking the long moribund housing market. Potential sellers want to know whether they should sell now or wait, and buyers are fervently pushing their agents to get into the Peninsula housing market before the IPO, anticipating rising prices as the newly wealthy compete for the hottest neighborhoods from San Francisco to Palo Alto.

The New York Times writes that if you thought housing was expensive in the Valley now, just wait for the Facebook update:

..10 homes in Palo Alto sold for more than their asking prices last month, some by large amounts. Now, with the long-expected Facebook public offering a step closer to reality, Mr. DeLeon said he expected to see several things happen: some sellers may keep their homes off the market until they judge the time is right, some speculators may snap up old houses to tear down and rebuild, and some buyers may feel pressure to make offers before the deluge hits.

While the Valley is bubbling with nervous excitement, the Wall Street Journal notes that the benefits of the Facebook IPO may only reach so far.  New potential Facebook millionaires still want a short commute to work.

In communities in the shadow of tech giants like Facebook Inc. in Menlo Park, housing prices are on a tear. Menlo Park led the Bay Area with a 52.7% increase in its median home sales price in the fourth quarter, with prices rising to $1.29 million from $840,000 a year earlier, according to DataQuick. Palo Alto’s median home-sales price jumped 12.5% to $1.1 million from $977,750, according to DataQuick.

Cities outside of Silicon Valley didn’t fare as well. Sonoma, for example, experienced a 24.1% drop in the fourth quarter in its median home-sales price to $356,000 from $469,000 a year ago, while Walnut Creek prices fell 18.3% to $580,000 from $709,500, according to DataQuick.

 Since we live in the Bay Area, we should know what’s happening out there.  Readers – what have you seen?  Are you looking to buy or sell in the Valley?  Does the Facebook IPO affect how you’re planning to buy or sell?

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2012/02/13/facebook-ipo-is-sizzling-up-silicon-valey-real-estate/

“I’m kind of worried – a thousand millionaires are going to be buying houses!” Connie Cao said as she and her family toured a home in a good school district here.

Her husband, Jared Oberhaus, was more optimistic. “Maybe sellers are sitting on their houses now, waiting for Facebook, and they’ll all come on the market at the same time,” he said.

It will be some time before the first Facebook shares are sold to the public, and even longer before Facebook’s employees are able to turn their paper wealth into cash and officially take their places as the newest members of the 1 percent. But the mere anticipation of the event may pour a little kerosene onto what is already a fairly hot local real estate market.

When Ken DeLeon, a Silicon Valley real estate agent, recently sold an 8,000-square-foot house to a Facebook employee, he said, the movers showed up at the client’s old 1,000-square-foot home and asked, “Did you win the lottery?”

Silicon Valley has been good to Mr. DeLeon, a former lawyer, who said he sold $275 million worth of homes last year, and who is finishing up a memoir about overcoming illness, injury and loss that he calls “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Sexy People?”

Even after some of the air went out of the housing bubble in the Bay Area in recent years, prices in the most desirable parts of San Francisco and Silicon Valley stayed buoyant enough to remain out of reach for most people. A report on 2011 housing prices by Coldwell Banker, the real estate company, found that 8 of the nation’s 20 most expensive markets were in Silicon Valley or the Bay Area. Mr. DeLeon said Palo Alto, with its limited supply, had remained remarkably strong – and could hit new peaks this year.

In recent weeks, he said, there have been signs that the market has been heating up more: 10 homes in Palo Alto sold for more than their asking prices last month, some by large amounts. Now, with the long-expected Facebook public offering a step closer to reality, Mr. DeLeon said he expected to see several things happen: some sellers may keep their homes off the market until they judge the time is right, some speculators may snap up old houses to tear down and rebuild, and some buyers may feel pressure to make offers before the deluge hits.

A steady stream of would-be buyers walked through the open house Mr. DeLeon held here on Sunday – a 2,325-square-foot home with a small backyard and an asking price of nearly $1.8 million. They checked out the sunken Japanese-style dining room and the heated concrete floors with leaf inlays. Many got lattes from the barista stationed in the backyard.

Mr. DeLeon said he already had plans to market to Facebook employees. One strategy: he intends to buy ads on Facebook. “It’s amazing how you can target them,” he said.

Article source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/facebook-millionaires-might-drive-up-real-estate-prices-in-the-already-expensive-area-of-silicon-valley/articleshow/11818491.cms

Rica has more than 15 years of comprehensive sales experience which stems from owning her own business, to corporate sales, and extensive experience in both residential and commercial real estate. In doing so she’s developed a client-centered philosophy and attention to detail for enhancing every transaction.

Having been raised in the San Francisco Bay Area not only complements her knowledge of the local real estate market but adds to her community affection as well. Rica is dedicated and known for providing topnotch service to both home buyers and sellers. While she prides herself on being a trained negotiator and problem solver, the foundation of her success is based on traditional values like hard work, honesty, and a personal commitment to excellence.

Rica has received the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) Certification through the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). She graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Francisco State University with a degree in Radio and Television. When she’s not hard at work, Rica enjoys teaching Sunday school at her family’s church and visiting with the elderly. However, her favorite pastime is hanging out at home on the Peninsula with her husband, Rob and their son, Samuel.

ABOUT MCGUIRE REAL ESTATE
McGuire Real Estate has been an integral part of the San Francisco Bay Area real estate scene for over 90 years. A mid-sized, regional boutique, we specialize in luxury real estate, but apply the highest standards of service to properties in every price range and to every client. Our customer first philosophy and local focus has proved to be a winning formula as a Bay Area real estate leader. McGuire’s affiliation with Luxury Portfolio successfully connects our clients and agents to a worldwide marketplace. McGuire operates two offices in San Francisco, one in Marin County, one serving the Peninsula in Burlingame, and two in the East Bay.

To learn more about McGuire Real Estate, contact us at clientcare@mcguire.com, 1-800-4-RESULT, or visit www.mcguire.com.

Article source: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/mcguire-real-estate-introduces-new-agent-rica-ruiz-to-burlingame-office-1533036.htm